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Have just got a T3 1016 and when I try to drop an SV103 spool in it the reel will not spin. it seems like the magnets on the spool and the palm side plate don't line up properly or something. I have a DIY long cast spool that fits the T3 fine and the SV103 spool fits the reel it came in. Am I missing something? The specific combination of the T3 and SV103 spool seems to be a problem. Would like to hear if anyone else has had similar experiences.

The SV103 spool has a "cup" piece around the bearing. You'll see it held in /w a retainer clip(same thing that holds the side plate bearing in). Carefully pop that clip out and pull the cup off. Put it on the T3 spool bearing and you'll be good to go.

The bearing that's on the stock spool is a different size with wider inner and outer diameter. It doesn't fit in that cup.... I'm thinking the problem could be with the rotor but I'm just not sure at this point.

I know there is a difference in spool shaft length between 103 and T3 spools. I thought with 103 reels when inserting a T3 spool you needed to back off on the CC knob and shim a T3 to take a 103 spool but I might have that backwards. Try backing off or removing the CC knob to see if it fits then.

LowRange wrote:I know there is a difference in spool shaft length between 103 and T3 spools. I thought with 103 reels when inserting a T3 spool you needed to back off on the CC knob and shim a T3 to take a 103 spool but I might have that backwards. Try backing off or removing the CC knob to see if it fits then.

That sounds along the line of what I'm experiencing. When the spool is in the reel, the side on the gear side sits out a little further than the palming side meaning that something is preventing it from going all the way in and sitting evenly. What this is I have no clue anything on it.

DenhamBruce wrote:Upon further research it looks like the 103 spool isn't even compatible with the T3. Whats more confusing is that you're all saying it works fine!

Strange. I did not do anything to make the spool fit. However, I always have the spool tension knob loose when storing reels (and swapping spools). If you need further input, I will try the sv103 spool in the t3 when I get home (Sunday).

I had the sv103 spool in my jdm t3 sv 8.1 model. It did physically fit and it spun somewhat freely. It casted alright but you could easily tell it was being restricted. What I did notice was even with the cast cap totally removed the spool had zero wiggle to it. So it did not allow me to back off the spool tension to get more out of the reel. I ended up removing the rubber shim from under the cast cap just to be sure it was on far enough as to not back itself off and also not add any extra tension to the spool shaft. So it does fit and will work but not at its full potential for sure. I threw my calipers on the 103 spool and a 1016 to check the shaft length. The 103 is definitely longer and that’s why I couldn’t adjust it any further.

With the DIY spools there used to be seperate 103 and T3 spools then they came out with a 103/T3 spool later. I'm guessing they just split the difference between the spool shaft lengths to make a spool that would drop into either platform. Don't let the fact that the DIYs fit both trick you into thinking that a 103 spool just drops into a T3 without some tweaking.

I have just fitted my two SV103 spools into my T3s, which both have ZPI bearings and are otherwise stock.

Both spools fit perfectly in my T3 1016 - I get side-to-side play, great freespool and smooth casting. They work really well on long cast mode.

However, the spools do not fit well into my T3 SV. I can fit them in the reel but there is no side-to-side movement and very poor freespool.

My two T3s have very similar non-handle sideplates, but they are not exactly identical when looking at the inside of the sideplates, which I guess accounts for some of the difference in spool handling...

Last edited by Dalleinf on Sun Jul 08, 2018 11:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

Its the same thing as the R+ spools from the steez103. If you dont remove the shim under the bearing on the palming side plate, the side plate won't close when using the R+ spool. If you do remove the shim, it should work.